Dorje Drak Temple

Dorje Drak Temple is located at Gongkar county, southeast of Lhasa, and also the county where Gonggar airport is. It is at the north shore of one of the three holy lakes - Yamdrok Tso lake.

Dorje Drak Temple was founded by the First Rigdzin Godemchen Ngodrub Gyeltsen (1337-1409). In 1632 the monastery relocated from Tsang to its present tranquil setting on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, when the young Third Rigdzin Ngagiwangpo and his guardian Jangdak Tashi Topgyel were forced to flee the wrath of the kings of Tsang.

Dorje Drak Temple maintains the tradition of the Nyingma school known as the Northern Treasures.In the main assembly hall are statues of Guru Rinpoche and Pema Trinley. Five butter sculptures to the right of the Samsum Namgyel Gonkhang represent the chapel’s five protectors. Also a cabinet holds many monastery’s treasures. Among the treasures is a fragment of a staff belonging to Milarepa. Unfortunately, it has been smashed during the Cultural Revolution. Up to the higher chapel and you can by some lovely ground juniper incense.

It takes an long as a half and one hour of walking the kora which leads around the back of the dorje shaped rock behind the monastery, lying up to a ruined retreat atop the rock. The path overlooks some dramatic sand dunes and the views from the retreat are simply amazing.